2018 is here! Hopefully it will be a whole lot better than 2017 (in ways too numerous to count!). Oh, and let's hope it's good for our guinea pigs, too!

Guinea Lynx is 19 years old now, a great place to talk about guinea pigs and more. Some content has been available since 2000, hosted on another site, moved to another temporary host (thanks, Teresa!) and finally to its own site here. The current board dates back to 1/1/2002 (there was a temporary board before that).

For those of you who value Guinea Lynx and all it has to offer, I encourage you to help support the site. Since I am no longer selling calendars and books, I no longer have the buffer I once did to cover basic costs. You can write me for my address if you need it, or can use Paypal (see tips below) . Your support is appreciated more than you know!

I remain firmly committed to keeping Guinea Lynx Google-ad-free (THIS is what Guinea Lynx could look like without your help: http://www.guinealynx.info/sample.html ). So if any of you are willing to help cover the basic costs associated with running this board (hosting/internet, etc.) which have unfortunately increased, your donation would be greatly appreciated. While contributing to expenses is voluntary, it really does keep this site going. And if you have never contributed, perhaps this could be the year you start!

I would be happy to give you a line of text (or update your notation) as a thank you for your help. Choose whatever notation you'd like - make one up or try "Supporter in '18". Notations appear under your avatar. If you don't have an avatar, send me a picture of one of your guinea pigs and I will size it so you can upload it to your profile.

For a $40 donation I will be happy to make you an animated avatar (up to 9 guinea pig pics). An existing animated avatar can be updated (new pics) with any donation.

VERY IMPORTANT! => I do NOT always remember to ask you what you'd like your notation to be or if you'd like an animated avatar so PLEASE remind me and I will be happy to do so (this is a consequence of getting older and being less organized!) so this is my official apology if I forget!

If you email me at the following address, I can send you my mailing address if you wish to send a check (preferred). For those who would rather use Paypal, I only have a personal Paypal account (it doesn't take credit or debit cards). For what it's worth, mailing a donation works better for me.

Please note, Paypal is now charging additional fees. If you want to make sure I receive your entire donation (and avoid these fees), select the "Personal" tab and "Gift" and make sure you either have funds in your account or are drawing funds from your bank (an "e-check" rather than a bank debit card or credit card). Then your entire donation should go through rather than having Paypal remove substantial fees. Checks do not incur additional fees so all of your donation is guaranteed to help GL.

The email I use for Paypal is:

You all make this board a real community and I'm grateful for your participation here. I am especially indebted to the members who answer questions about guinea pig care and monitor the medical board. I am so proud that you all make a difference in the lives of guinea pigs and in each other's lives - sometimes in wonderful and unexpected ways. And you all absolutely provide the inspiration I need to keep me going so thanks for making Guinea Lynx the great place it is!!

...and thanks for letting me talk about my chicken, Mia and the rest of the flock, Ebon, Ella, and Ginger (see the chicken thread for pictures) :-)

p.s. that "sample page" link above that shows "what Guinea Lynx could look like" if there was rampant advertising, is pretty close to the truth. How do I know? You should see the emails I get! Most try to offer me something for "free" in order to put up content or a link. Here's one recent email:

Hi team at Guinealynx
How are you? [Not sayin'...]
I came across your excellent site: http://guinealynx.com [it's always an "excellent site"]
How much would it be for an article placement with a link in the main content area of the article going to a leading gaming/sports betting site[just what I was looking for], taking into account the 3 points below:
• We will get the content written. The content will be of high quality and will fit the topic/nature of your site. [you think?]
• The article is not marked as sponsored and will stay on the site permanently even if it rolls over into the archives. [in your dreams!]
• We will pay you via Paypal once the article is live.
Please update me with a price and will speak to the client ASAP. Also if you operate or have access to any other sites, feel free to send them through also with prices..[perhaps I could demand a bag of chicken feed? some lottery tickets? a book on the importance of sleep?]

OK, done! Check is no option here, as our countries bank system cancelled the check system entirely, except bank created ones for paying for property. I need no change in text. And thanks so much for doing such a great job!

Just sent a small donation via paypal (i'm almost outta paper checks at the moment). I haven't officially logged in for years, but I've been referencing the site and boards all the while for the best info possible to take care of my pigs. Thank you so much for everything you have done and provided to all of us!

I can't figure out why it is not showing. After dinner I will try to remember to delete it and upload it again (this is tricky because there is a size limit and I have to change the size limit to allow it and change it back afterward).

I am guessing this is a hold-over from when the site was updated. Although I had the settings correct, it would not allow me to specify a remote location. When I looked at my avatar, it seemed to have been uploaded. So I did that with yours too.